ruralmom

I am a rancher and though I do not always agree with others, govt. or not, it comes down to the lack of respect for the land and the law. It is obvious these men are lacking in any type of morals and respect. This is a third case of a large ranching operation that has had their way for years. I would give the local BLM and DPW a bit of credit for just doing their jobs. I only wish it was a bigger deal of what the Smith's have done and damaged than who they are.

Are you kidding!!!! Basically this is a free pass to rustle cattle. Those cattle he was charged with stealing gave him approx. a calf a year during those 6-8 years some of those animals were reported missing. That calculates out to about 30 calves. OK, say half were heifers (girls) that he could of saved for replacement heifers. I am not going to go there and figure out that. But $$$$. Then the other half were steers. I will give him the benefit of the dought and say 15 steers at todays market: 15 X $1000/ head = $15,000.00 . Well I guess rustling cattle does pay.

Well the verdict is back and though somewhat confusing since Monty was only guilty for five of the nine plaintiffs. Not sure how that happened. He branded all the calves that came from the nine plaintiffs, didn't he? Well just the same he was acutally tried and will be sentenced next month. I do hope the punishment fits the crime. Since some of those cows had been gone for years and presumably he branded all the cows offspring for those five years, that is some money in todays market!!! As a wife of a cattle rancher, I know the effects of a loss of a few calves per year. Congradulations Brad, you are a good honest man that did not deserve the treatment you received. I cannot believe Monty claimed being framed by a feuding neighbor! Seriously! who would have the time to put that much effort into that? Again, as a rancher wife there is not enough time in one day to do the work you HAVE to do, let alone try to set up your neighbor for cattle rustling. Monty, it takes a bigger man to admit you were wrong, than taking honest hard working folks to court, and take some responsibility for your own actions.

The facts were not presented clearly by Mr. Warner. This is not the first time cattle and calves have gone missing or been 'mistakenly branded' in Northwest Co. This is the first time someone has been caught. Though I have never seen a cow go under a fence, it has always been over, cows do stray and when you have thousands of miles of fence to maintain, it is difficult to keep up. This case is a matter of Monty putting his brand on a calf who's mother did not have his brand on her. He should of mothered up the calf and investigated the parentage. And it was not just one calf it was a bunch, from many neighboring ranches. Think about it, 1. can nine other ranchers be so negligant in maintaining there fences 2. he should of of noticed there mothers as being strays. Most ranchers have multiple ways to identify there animal, ie: permanent brands, ear tags and permanent ear notches. The DA is pursuing this case not the ranchers that lost their animals. Also the Cattlemans Assoc. and the Colorado Brand Board is behind this as well. With the prices of beef those ranchers lost a fortune in current and future income. Monty was not in the process of giving those animals back. With his brand on those calves, he marked them as his own. That is stealing. Those cows could of stayed in his vast herd and given him numberous calves in the furture and no one would be wiser. You cannot claim ignorance 37 times. Nor can you blames others for your actions.

Yes, this was a tragic accident, but are you kidding! of course, this was careless driving. I feel there is a equal fault from both parties. Mr. Bliss died as a result of an oversized load that was the responsibility of the drivers to oversee. Yes it was careless of Mr. Bliss to be walking on the side of the road. But, Mr. Peroulis should take responsibility for Mr. Bliss death, he caused it. Is this another case of who you? I question the validity in such a small community to have a jury trial of you peers or a jury trial of your friends.

Being in the cattle business it is highly likely to be in possession of someone elses cattle in your herd due to lack of fence upkeep, grass being greener on the other side, and the wondering eye. But to not inform the legitatmate owner and then to brand those calves of the cows that do not belong to you, I do not believe you could come up with an excuse to doing that. Those calves could not of been breed by your bull so you have no right to brand those calves as yours and then to state you need to clear that up. Sham on you Monty!

I am confused and I hope someone can answer this. Why is it that if I accidently hit someone with my car it's vehicular homicide and what Peroulis did is careless driving? A man died because of his driving. Does it matter than the Bliss was on the shoulder of the road? What is the difference?

My condolences go out to the Bliss family. A tragic way to loose a loved one. I hope that is case will be investigated to the fullest and the driver gets what he deserves and not what he can get away with due to who he is. Careless driving what a joke.

I live in town and suffer the consequences of having the deer in town. I have a dog that will not do anything to deer walking in her yard. Lucky for her. But what about the kids. There are 4 huge bucks living on the end of Green street. That time of year is coming when the bucks have a one track mind. These bucks are only two blocks from Sunset Elem. If there is a kid between a buck and his intended love interest there could be consequences. Yes, this time of the year only happens one time a year but there is kids year around. True, there has not been an incident of a child being hurt by a deer lately, yet, but can this community live with themselves knowing we CHOSE to keep deer in the city limits when something does happen. Would it not be better to aire on the side of caution. I feel that annual humaine trapping and culling of the majority of the town's deer population, with harsh penilties for deer feeding, with distribution of the meat can meet the majority of the communities wishes.

Again.... it's not what you know it is who you know. I hold our city and county official, commitioners, police, public service workers, at a higher standard. Yes, we makes mistakes but come on this is stupid. Mather's caused this man injury and he needs to be held accountable. I know neither party and it should not matter. What has happened to the days of being reponsible for your own action. We have lost our way.